Download 01 - University High School

Name ______________________________ Class __________________ Date __________________
Skills Worksheet
Directed Reading
Section: Viewing the Universe
1. How did observations of the sky help farmers in the past?
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2. How did observations of the sky help sailors in the past?
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3. What is the main reason people study the sky today?
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4. What is astronomy?
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THE VALUE OF ASTRONOMY
5. List four exciting space discoveries that astronomers have made.
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6. What have astronomers learned from these discoveries?
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7. What are the potential benefits to humans of studying the universe?
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8. List two federal agencies that support astronomical research.
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Directed Reading continued
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE UNIVERSE
_____ 9. The study of the origin, properties, processes, and evolution of the
universe is called
a. astronomy.
b. the big bang.
c. gravity.
d. cosmology.
_____ 10. Most astronomers agree that the universe began with the big bang,
which was a
a. gradual blooming of stars and planets.
b. great dust swirl that appeared about 4 billion years ago.
c. giant explosion that occurred about 14 billion years ago.
d. black hole that turned inside out.
_____ 11. In addition to telescopes, what do astronomers commonly use to study
the universe?
a. computer and mathematical models
b. experiments
c. microscopes
d. computer games
_____ 12. What is the nearest part of the universe to Earth?
a. the Milky Way
b. the solar system
c. Mars
d. a galaxy
_____ 13. A large collection of stars, dust, and gas bound together by gravity is
called a
a. solar system.
b. Milky Way.
c. comet.
d. galaxy.
_____ 14. The Milky Way is
a. Earth’s solar system.
b. Earth’s galaxy.
c. a star.
d. an asteroid.
_____ 15. How many galaxies exist in the universe?
a. one
b. hundreds
c. millions
d. billions
Original content Copyright © Holt McDougal. All rights reserved. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
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Studying Space
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Directed Reading continued
16. What is the average distance between Earth and the sun? What is this distance
called?
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17. How far does light travel in one year? What is this distance called?
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18. How far from Earth is the nearest star besides the sun?
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OBSERVING SPACE
_____ 19. Astronomers can see planets because planets
a. reflect light.
b. emit light.
c. emit radio waves.
d. emit X rays.
_____ 20. What are all the frequencies or wavelengths of electromagnetic
radiation called?
a. visible light
b. the electric spectrum
c. the radiation frequencies
d. the electromagnetic spectrum
_____ 21. Which is NOT an example of electromagnetic radiation?
a. radio waves
b. X rays
c. gravity
d. visible light
22. Of what is electromagnetic radiation composed?
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23. What happens when white light passes through a prism?
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24. What causes the different colors in the color spectrum?
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25. Which colors of light have the shortest wavelengths? Which have the longest?
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Directed Reading continued
26. Which wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation cannot be seen by humans?
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27. List six examples of invisible wavelengths that can only be detected by special
instruments.
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28. How do the temperatures of the colors of the visible spectrum change?
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29. How did Sir William Herschel discover infrared?
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30. What does the word infrared mean?
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31. How long are infrared waves compared with waves of visible light?
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32. Are radio wavelengths longer or shorter than infrared wavelengths?
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33. Are violet wavelengths longer or shorter than ultraviolet light wavelengths?
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34. What does the word ultraviolet mean?
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35. Are X-ray wavelengths longer or shorter than ultraviolet wavelengths?
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36. What are the shortest wavelengths?
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Original content Copyright © Holt McDougal. All rights reserved. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
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Studying Space
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Directed Reading continued
TELESCOPES
_____ 37. Galileo is known for
a. discovering the moon.
b. naming the Milky Way.
c. using a telescope to study the sky.
d. inventing the telescope.
_____ 38. A telescope is an instrument that
a. collects electromagnetic radiation from the sky and concentrates it.
b. changes X rays from the sky to visible light.
c. makes infrared radiation visible to humans.
d. reflects light from the craters on the moon.
In the space provided, write the letter of the definition that best matches the term
or phrase.
_____ 39. optical telescope
_____ 40. lens
_____ 41. refracting telescope
_____ 42. reflecting telescope
_____ 43. radio telescope
a. an instrument that uses a set of lenses to
gather and focus light from distant objects
b. an instrument that uses a curved mirror to
gather and focus light from distant objects
c. an instrument that detects radio waves
from space
d. a telescope that collects only visible light
e. a clear object shaped to bend light in
special ways
44. What are two problems with refracting telescopes?
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45. What problem does a reflecting telescope solve?
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46. Describe what happens to light that enters a reflecting telescope.
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Original content Copyright © Holt McDougal. All rights reserved. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
Holt McDougal Earth Science
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Studying Space
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Directed Reading continued
47. In what way are the mirrors in reflecting telescopes better than the objective
lenses in refracting telescopes?
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48. What are the largest reflecting telescopes, and how large are they?
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49. List four kinds of invisible radiation that telescopes have been developed to
detect.
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50. What effect does Earth’s atmosphere have on many forms of electromagnetic
radiation?
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51. Why do ground-based telescopes that detect invisible radiation work best at
high elevations?
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SPACE-BASED ASTRONOMY
52. Why have spacecraft with telescopes and other instruments been launched?
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Original content Copyright © Holt McDougal. All rights reserved. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
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Directed Reading continued
In the space provided, write the letter of the description that best matches the term
or phrase.
_____ 53. Hubble Space
Telescope
_____ 54. Chandra X-ray
Observatory
_____ 55. Compton Gamma
Ray Observatory
_____ 56. Spitzer Space
Telescope
a. detects infrared radiation
b. orbits Earth to collect electromagnetic
radiation from objects in space
c. will be launched in 2013 to detect nearand mid-range infrared radiation from
objects in space
d. was used to detect gamma rays from
objects such as black holes
e. makes clear images using X rays from
objects in space
_____ 57. James Webb Space
Telescope
58. What planets were investigated by the space probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2?
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59. What information did the Galileo space probe gather about Jupiter?
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60. What spacecraft began orbiting Saturn in 2004?
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61. What did the Huygens space probe do in December 2004?
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62. What did the twin Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, confirm in 2004?
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Original content Copyright © Holt McDougal. All rights reserved. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
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Studying Space
Name ______________________________ Class __________________ Date __________________
Directed Reading continued
Use the terms from the list below to complete the sentences that follow. Each term
may be used only once. Some terms may not be used.
Earth’s moon
crewed spacecraft
robotic
solar system
space shuttle
space port
63. Spacecraft that carry only instruments and computers are described as
______________________.
64. Spacecraft that do not carry humans can explore space and travel beyond the
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65. Spacecraft that carry humans are____________________________________ .
66. Humans have never traveled in space beyond _________________________ .
67. An example of a crewed spacecraft that orbits Earth to repair satellites and
perform experiments is the ________________________________________ .
68. Why is it taking NASA a long time to launch a voyage to Mars?
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69. What events focused public attention on the risks of human space exploration?
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70. How have space programs helped make weather predictions more accurate?
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71. What kind of help do satellites give car drivers and airplane pilots?
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72. How has space exploration led to improved electronics?
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73. Give an example of how space exploration has helped improve medical
equipment.
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Original content Copyright © Holt McDougal. All rights reserved. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
Holt McDougal Earth Science
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Studying Space